Over the years, in the cause of renovation and international integration, Bac Lieu province has exerted itself to obtain impressive achievements in economic, social, defence, and security terms. However, climate change characterised by floods, droughts, salinity, and riverbank erosion has greatly impacted on a section of its citizens; there have been many inadequacies in creating employment opportunities in its rural areas. Although political security and social order and safety have been maintained, and traffic accidents have been on the decrease, they still have complicated developments. Hostile forces have taken advantage of issues on “ethnicity”, “religion”, “democracy”, and “human rights” to enhance their sabotage strategy in various aspects of social life. Meanwhile, there have been differences in educational backgrounds among the people, especially in terms of legal knowledge; most of the cadres in charge of law dissemination and education are wearing two hats; facilities and materials for law dissemination and education at grass-roots level have been limited. Those drawbacks have directly impacted on law-abiding awareness of cadres, soldiers, and citizens. Against that backdrop, the Provincial Military Party Committee (PMPC) and the Provincial Military Command (PMC) have focused their leadership and direction on executing the Project “Promoting the role of the People’s Army in law dissemination and education, encouraging the people’s observance of law at grass-roots level in the period of 2021 - 2027” under Prime Minister’s Decision 1371/QĐ-TTg, dated 30 July 2021 (aka Project 1371), via proper measures and flexible, diverse forms, thereby contributing to maintaining political security and social order and safety, building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds”, facilitating the province’s sustainable economic, cultural, social development.

Political education for staff members of the PMC

Under Guidance 610/HD-BCĐ, dated 3 March 2022, by Ministry of National Defence Steering Board for Project 1371 and plans and guiding documents by Military Region 9’s Steering Board, the PMC has advised the Provincial People’s Committee to issue Plan to execute Project 1371 in the period of 2022 - 2027 and other documents for the direction and implementation process. At the same time, it has provided support for the province to establish a Provincial Steering Board (with Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee acting as Head of the Steering Board), a standing agency, and an assistant team. Grounded on the Plan to execute Project 1371 and local particularities, all-level party committees and commanders have formulated their own action plans on a yearly basis. Offices, units, and sectors have proactively realised the Project and multiplied creative, effective models and approaches. Annually, the Provincial Steering Board has proactively directed district-level Steering Boards to select areas as typical examples in implementing the Project to draw lessons across the province. Units at grass-roots level have conducted law dissemination and education for cadres, soldiers, and the people according to the Project’s objectives and requirements.

The PMPC and the PMC have given advice to the Provincial Steering Board on attaching special importance to the work of propagation and education, encouraging the participation of all sectors, organisations, and forces in the process. Accordingly, all-level party committees and commands have carried out propagation and education work to raise their troops’ awareness of the importance of the Project; all cadres and soldiers have grasped viewpoints, goals, tasks, and measures set by the Project. All-level military agencies have closely cooperated with local party committees, authorities, and sectors in developing action plans, guiding the implementation process, and identifying the central points of coordination work. It is worth noting that the PMC has proactively worked with provincial departments, sectors, and unions to direct grass-roots level offices and units to give advice to party committees at their same level and assist commune-level party committees and authorities in carrying out surveys on the need of law propagation, dissemination, and education in each area. Based on those surveys, priority has been given to conducting law propagation, dissemination, and education in the areas mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities and among young people, high school students, the elderly, women, and children. Sound advice on target individuals and proper programs, materials, and methods of propagation has been given to all-level Steering Boards. In the process, all-level military agencies have closely coordinated with local party committees and authorities to organise forums and talk shows to disseminate the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies on ethnicity and religion, while encouraging religious dignitaries and followers to fulfil their civic duties. Units have proactively given advice to local party committees and authorities on well conducting the work of law education; they have closely worked with competent offices and locals to grasp political security and social order and safety situation, thereby opportunely detecting and handling incidents, achieving consensus among all people, cementing military - civilian solidarity, building a firm “posture of people’s hearts and minds” within defensive zones. Moreover, offices and units have frequently maintained exchange and coordination in the fight against social evils, thus creating a “safe corridor”, building strong stationed areas. Between 2021 and 2024, the Provincial Steering Board cooperated with relevant agencies in organising 256 propagation programs about military call-up work, the Military Service Law, the Law on the Reserve Force within 55 communes with the participation of 10,396 citizens and high school students, providing over 16,800 law materials and leaflets, conducting 600 broadcast programs within districts, communes, offices, and units, and designing more than 5,600 posters within offices, units, and residential areas. Doing so has helped make a huge positive change in law-abiding awareness of cadres, soldiers, and local citizens and contributed to maintaining political security and social order and safety.

Defence and security education course for individuals from the 3rd group

The province has attached significance to renewing forms and methods of law propagation, dissemination, and education work, with a view to keeping raising the effectiveness of this work. Offices and units have effectively maintained and made full use of their Law Bookcases and diversified propagation materials, such as books, leaflets, tapes, and discs to enable cadres, soldiers, and citizens to improve their knowledge of law. The PMC has directed its offices and units to actively include law propagation, dissemination, and education in cultural and artistic activities, youth forums, and knowledge contests, such as “knowledge contest on the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam” and “youth with traffic culture”, effectively executing movements, programs, and models, such as “all people prevent and fight human trafficking and illegal immigration”, “the Military joins hands to build new-style rural areas”, and “clever mass mobilisation”, maintaining coordination with relevant agencies to carry out law propagation, dissemination, and education programs within communes of 7 districts, towns, and cities. Bringing into play mass media’s strength and advantages, the PMC has closely collaborated with Bac Lieu Provincial Newspaper, Bac Lieu Provincial Radio and Television, and district-level radio stations to widely conduct law education on the All-People National Defence program and Bac Lieu Soldiers’ news, raising the effectiveness of disseminating legal documents via online newspapers and social networks, enhancing the work of law information with images and video clips posted on “Green Sea” Facebook page of the PMC’s Division of Politics as well as other fanpages and groups of offices, units, and localities for the sake of orientation of public opinion. The PMC has also attached importance to performing the work of law propagation, dissemination, and education via legal knowledge contest organised on People’s Army Newspaper, knowledge contest about the Law on Drug Prevention and Control, and writing contest on studying laws on corruption and negative practice prevention and control within the province’s area in 2024, with tens of thousands of entries, creating a wide learning atmosphere across the province. Besides, all-level military agencies have stepped up the execution of the Project via mass mobilisation work and the training of reserve force and militia and self-defence force. In the past 3 years, in the process of mobilisation and training, tens of thousands of members of the reserve force and the militia and self-defence force have been provided with law education. The militia and self-defence force within districts has actively disseminated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), the Law of the Sea of Vietnam (2012), agreements on the delimitation of territorial sea, continental shelf, and historic waters signed between Vietnam and other regional countries among all people, providing fishermen with guidelines and principles for settling incidents and instructions on fishing at sea, thus contributing to raising awareness and a sense of responsibility among the armed forces and people towards the observance of law and protection of national sovereignty over seas and islands.

When implementing Project 1371, the PMPC and the PMC have drawn several valuable lessons as follows. First of all, it is necessary to enhance leadership, direction, and management from party committees and authorities as well as from political commissars, junior political commissars, and commanders of offices and units, promote roles and responsibilities of the standing agency and members of the Steering Board to ensure that the Project will be carried out in a serious, close, effective, focalised way. At the same time, great value should be attached to developing regulations on coordination between the PMC and relevant offices and units. In the process, it is important to thoroughly research into areas and target individuals to identify proper content, forms, and methods of propagation. Furthermore, it is essential to actively renew and diversify content, forms, and methods of propagation, invest in facilities and materials for the Project, and align the execution of the Project with plans on socio-economic, cultural development; due regard should be paid to improving the people’s life, settling the people’s legitimate aspirations, building a core force in charge of the Project, and regularly organising refresher courses for this force to meet their task requirements.

Sr. Col. NGUYEN HOANG SA

Political Commissar of the PMC